Chapter 1074 - Planning to keep Penny safe... and a proposal

~ Los Angeles, Cliffside villa ~

7:06 PM

JoAnna, Jeff, Sophia and Felix joined for dinner.

The newly minted parents left Cecilia at home with her nanny. Both of them were nervous to be away from their four-weeks-old baby and they frequently checked the video from the baby monitor to make sure everything is alright.

Since Emma was present, Charlie came as well.

They all discussed with Sarah and Aiden what happened that morning at the parking lot and provided their inputs on how it should be handled.

After dinner they moved to the living room and continued their discussion over tasty bite-sized desserts and fresh fruits accompanied by variety of beverages.

Penny was happy that she is surrounded with eight friends who are all concerned about her wellbeing.

The conclusion was the same as what JoAnna said that morning, that in order to keep Penny safe, she either needs to stay cooped up until her parents are out of power, or they need to take action against Marcus right away.

Neither of the options seemed good. If they need to hide Penny, that can take weeks and she has a job. Isabella likes her, but how long will she keep the gallery without a curator? On the other side, going after Marcus earlier, will void all the planning and waiting they did so far in order to get him out of power in a big way so that he loses his supporters permanently.

Sarah suggested more than once just getting rid of Marcus, but Aiden and Jeff can't be ruthless to their Uncle.

"What if we don't touch Marcus, but we target Morgan family only?", Sarah's question got everyone's attention.

Aiden thought that this is a promising idea. "How much we know, only Morgans are after Penny, and Lukas who wants revenge for what she did to him."

Sarah confirmed and continued: "After last weekend, Lukas is in the hospital, taking care of his own problems. And we can intimidate him not to get any ideas of going after Penny. Then we are left only with her family."

Aiden smiled. He loves when they complete each other's thoughts. "We already have a list of assets and people under the control of Morgan family. It should not be difficult to target them. Without money and people, they will lose capability to go after Penny and also Marcus will not need them."

Sarah's eyes sparkled while she looked at Aiden. "We can talk to Eric and see if he has any further information that can be useful."

"Eric?", Penny asked.

Sarah confirmed. "Your father's bodyguard. Last weekend we attended an event and he decided to quit his job. He is working for us now. With his intimate knowledge of people and properties, he can be valuable."

JoAnna saw that Penny was scared and added: "Don't worry, he does not know that you are here. And he will not come here either."

Jeff looked at Sarah and Aiden: "How much time you need to take down Morgans?"

Sarah turned to Sophia while telling Jeff that they are not the ones who can answer that question. "We will rely on big sis to come up with a plan, and then we will see…"

Charlie offered his assistance as well, and Emma said that she will keep Penny company whenever possible so that she is not by herself.

The high level plan was in place to target Morgan family, and Penny saw a ray of hope that she might reunite with Benjamin earlier than planned.

"Penny…", JoAnna called. "You need to decide what you want to do with hotels your parents own."

"Hotels?" Penny frowned. She does not want to have any connection to Morgan family.

Jeff saw Penny's reaction and offered his input: "When we go after your parents, they will lose everything. Hotels included. We can bankrupt them or make them change owners. We don't care either way. However, they are very profitable and it's a pity to waste them. That will also impact hundreds of employees who are currently relying on their jobs in those hotels. Even if you are not interested, think about your child. It will be something you can give him one day."

JoAnna looked at her husband with admiration. She knows that he spoke so much for Penny's sake with a hope that she will take over her family's business. If he cares only about profits and employees, those hotels can end up under White corp. umbrella. White corp. already has so many different businesses that adding hotels will not be a big deal.

Sophia's conclusion was the same as JoAnna's. She patted Penny's hand and said: "I agree with Jeff. Think about it. By tomorrow afternoon I will have a plan in place, and then you can tell us your decision."

Penny saw that as a great idea. Besides providing a bright future for her child, she can help Ben financially as well. Whenever she is with him, he paid for everything. If she takes over those hotels, it will provide her with a chance to take care of him, but…"I don't know how to run a business or manage hotels."

"You have hotel managers who are doing day-to-day activities, so you don't need to worry about it.", Sophia said. "As for running a business, look around this room and see how many mentors are available. Pick one… or all."

Emma hugged Penny around her waist. "Join me as a classmate in attending business-running crash courses. I already spoke with Anna and Sophia and they agreed to pour their business knowledge on me as a preparation for running the rehabilitation center."

Charlie pried Emma's hands from Penny and made her hug him. "Did you forget about your fiancé? I am available as well."

Emma narrowed her eyes at him. "What fiancé? When will you stop with that?"

Charlie kissed her cheek. "Why are you fussing? What do you need to accept me as your fiancé?"

Emma pouted. "How can you be my fiancé without proposing or me accepting? And where is the ring? And… what are you doing?" Her eyes widened when she saw Charlie go down on his knee.

He reached into his pocket as his eyes were locked on Emma's.

"Emma Ronin, you are my angel…"

Emma didn't hear the rest of his words from the sound of her heart thumping violently. She saw that Charlie's lips are moving, and he is holding a black satin jewelry box with a big sparkling diamond ring, and he is on his knee, holding onto her hand, his eyes locked on hers… and she was quite sure that he is proposing.

"…and I hope that you will commit to spending your life with me.", Charlie ended his speech during which Emma spaced out and looked at her expectantly.

JoAnna giggled at the sight of her non-responsive friend and poked her.

Emma winced and threw a glare at JoAnna. She turned to Charlie and was surprised that he is standing in front of her. He leaned close to her and his breath caressed her ear.

"Say 'yes' …", he whispered.

Emma inhaled Charlie's masculine scent and held her breath for a second. "Yes."

Emma was not sure if she was so lost in his kiss or if she spaced out again, but by the time kiss ended a sparkly diamond ring was on her left ring finger and Charlie looked at her lovingly.

"Thank you for making me the happiest man in the world. I promise not to give you a single reason to regret this."

Emma smiled and sank into Charlie's embrace.

"I can call you my fiancée now, right?", Charlie asked Emma after everyone present congratulated them and gave them wishes for a happy future.

Emma looked at Charlie for a second before asking. "You did that in order to make me stop complaining?"

Charlie laughed and pulled Emma to sit in his lap. "I did that so that you accept spending the rest of your life with me. Titles are not important to me, but I see that they are important to you… so, yes. I did that in order to make you stop complaining."

Charlie's eyes flashed mischievously, and he spoke in Emma's ear softly: "You should see what all I'm prepared to do in order to make you spend your nights in my bed."

Emma felt her face burning and she quickly glanced around to make sure no one heard that. She wanted to remind Charlie to behave, there are people around! But then she saw him lick his lips slowly while his eyebrow arched suggestively, and she knew that he is telling her that he is thirsty. She buried her face in his neck.

"You will be the end of me.", she mumbled.

"The beginning, my angel. I am your beginning.", Charlie corrected Emma and tightened his hug while smile refused to leave his face. He is hugging his fiancée… and she said 'yes' .

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